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Say hello to the new CEO of Blanc & Otus, Tony Hynes! He’s smart, he’s British, and he says things like “savagely overpriced.” But Tony has been in the US for 18 years now and is becoming quite settled in his American life. He binge-watches The Walking Dead, he has opinions about Uber vs. Lyft, and he orders Chinese takeout. He is even a U.S. citizen! (Note: the “I Voted” sticker). Yet somehow he’s never heard of a tootsie pop…?

Tony enjoys taking the ferry to work every morning and reading The Guardian for his daily news. How Tony wound up in PR, you ask? He doesn’t know, but he blames his sister (and we thank her!). Want to know more? Watch Tony’s Q&A video, below!

What’s your name? Tony

Where are you from? London

When did you move across the pond? 1989… 1998!

What was your favorite college class? I didn’t really go to that many, so uh, let me think… the politics of African Development with Dr. David Pool

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It’s time for another Blanc & Otus New Hire Interview to introduce our AAE Adrienne Halford! We gave Adrienne the classic Blanc & Otus welcome by flooding her with a series of unusual questions. She humored us and filled us in on all her likes and dislikes.

This USC grad commutes everyday from Sacramento but the time sure flies when she’s blasting One Direction. In her free time she likes to bake pies, play Minecraft and hang with her two cool cats Ellie and Chavy (another cat person in the office – score!). She likes her coffee black and pepperoni on her pizza, but don’t give her any shellfish – she’s allergic! Find out the rest in the Q&A video below.

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Full disclosure here: I’m stoked about Hillary Clinton. I’m coming from the decently far left of the political spectrum—just so we’re all on the same page – but I’m going to talk about Clinton’s campaign design, not her politics. I’m also coming at this topic through the lens of a designer so unlike most of my team here at Blanc & Otus that focuses on media and PR, I spend my days in Photoshop and InDesign, designing branded content like infographics and presentation decks.

I have loved following Hillary’s campaign. For President Obama’s 2008 election, I was 16, living in blue California and wasn’t paying very close attention to his campaign itself. But I do remember the distinct visuals of his logo which was much more businesslike and branded than political campaigns of the past. The iconic Hope portrait by artist Shepard Fairey became widely known and represented a significant shift toward design-centric political campaigns. Today, it’s hard to ignore that politicians – namely Clinton’s campaign – are moving even further towards the way of corporate brands—clear, consistent, and present.

Clinton is doing something special. Campaign design has never been more organized, strategized, or original. Clinton’s design is deep and thorough. Fast Company called it “the most sophisticated campaign design strategy ever.” The strategy is nationally cohesive, which we do not typically see in presidential campaigns. Her UI is aptly named “Pantsuit.” Her art direction is obvious and her branding is distinct. The logo is beautiful. It can fit with any theme and be used with both photos and colors. It lacks the cliché stars, stripes, and eagles. It’s a well-designed logomark and doesn’t rely on classic serif fonts or over-the-top patriotism. Some experts have noted that she has to put more effort than any other nominee to succeed into being relatable and likable. And she has to do this largely because she is a woman.

Clinton’s design choices and styles humanize her, which was needed as she’s been in the public eye for so long. A lot of this comes from her font choice, Sharp Sans. It’s distinctive enough in her color scheme to be authoritative and new, both of which her campaign needed when starting off. The voice of Clinton’s campaign is consistent through the content her team pushes, on every platform. And her design and content team is on it – from the viral graphic, “Love trumps hate” to her fast facts lists. The election lines have crept onto every screen and platform, from TV ads to Snapchat filters. And all of this, for the most part, is new to politics.

Clinton has even reinvented the campaign pin with the Forty-Five Pin Project—45 campaign buttons designed by contemporary artists and designers. She’s making campaign T-shirts cool with her collection from fashion designers like Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch. Her well-designed merchandise collection is contemporary and speaks to her audience.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is strongly rooted in her branding strategy. Her team is using design as a tool to make her campaign both contemporary and effective. Her messages are clear, which is a necessary change in politics. No matter what happens tomorrow on November 8, Hillary Clinton’s design team deserves a lot of props for their impressive work because campaign design will never be the same again.

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Our latest B&O New Hire Interview is with none other than our new AAE Chelsea Murillo! She was kind enough to take time out of her crazy pitching schedule to answer our rapid-fire questions, which she handled like a pro (though we stumped her on how they ship Styrofoam). According to her, the hardest question to answer was what’s your favorite kind of cheese? To which she finally decided Brie.

This Diet-Coke-and-Moscow-Mule girl hails from San Mateo and is a proud big sister and mom to her dog and cat (hi, Lila and Max!). When she’s not jamming to The Lumineers (in Italy, no less), she probably has a Justin Bieber song stuck in her head. If you want to get on her good side, be sure to say “fabulous” a lot, but never “qupon.” Because it’s COUPON! Intrigued? Be sure to check out her Q&A video below!

What’s your full name? Chelsea

Where are you from? San Mateo, CA

One word you use to describe yourself? Enthusiastic

What is your favorite kind of cheese? That’s so hard, but brie

How did you end up in PR? It kind of just happened. I fell in love with PR during one of my classes that I took in college because one of my professors was awesome, and now I’ve been in PR for a year

What is your zodiac sign? Capricorn

What is your favorite dessert? Anything chocolate

What is your biggest pet peeve? When people pronounce it “qupon” instead of “coupon”

What is your favorite color? Green

How many piercings do you have? I had 3 but I took out my nose piercing

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to? The Lumineers concert in Italy

Where would you go on a dream vacation? Fiji

Do you have any pets? One dog and one cat, Lila and max

What did you have for breakfast? Breakfast burrito

Who is your celebrity crush? Liam Hemsworth

Do you ever make wishes at 11:11? Always

What do you wish for? Anything that helps through the day. I’m like, “get me through the next hour”

Do you have a favorite Snapchat filter? I like the dog one but that’s kind of basic, but I like the very interesting ones that come and go. Cant really think of any right now

What is the most embarrassing email username you’ve ever had? Brunettecutie441@gmail.com

Have you ever colored your hair? I’ve never colored my hair

Do you have any allergies? A medication called Bacterin

What is something you’re proud of? Proud to be a big sister, I have two younger sisters that look up to me. They are 21 and 18

What song have you had stuck on your head recently? Let me think; well, anything Justin Bieber is always stuck in my head

Do you have a drink of choice? Diet coke, Moscow mule girl. Pretty delicious

How do you get to and from work? Bus

How do you cut sandwiches, diagonally or vertically? Vertically

Would you rather do a truth or a dare? Dare

What is the craziest dare you’ve ever done?

Probably jumped into the ocean in the middle of the night

-With clothes or without?

-With clothes

What is your favorite season? Summer, for sure!

What is your favorite board game? Classic Monopoly

When was the last time you’ve played? Probably like 6 months ago, my mom and I like to play board games

How do you drink your coffee or tea? With a little bit of cream and a little bit of sugar

What is your perfect pizza? Its very specific it’s from this place called Flying Goat, which is in my college town and it has a fried egg on top, and arugula and this pine sauce on top. It’s so good

Do you have any causes that you are passionate about? Animal rights, I used to volunteer a lot on the San Mateo peninsula

What is your favorite word? I say “fabulous” a lot

Do you have a favorite holiday? I actually like Thanksgiving

What is your favorite food to order in? Chinese

What is your most vivid childhood memory? I was 4 years old and my aunt got a dog and we went to her house and I threw a tantrum because I wanted a dog. My mom said I kept it up for a week, and I actually didn’t get a dog until I was 8

Was “the dress” white and gold or blue and black? Blue and black!

When they ship Styrofoam, how do they pack it? I don’t know. A box???

How many licks so it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop? That’s a great question, I think 130 maybe 140

How do they get those tiny boats in those glass bottles? They probably have a machine

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As a number of our favorite reporters switched addresses to start 2016, the media carousel continued through the middle half of the year. While some of us said “goodbye for the summer,” many reporters said goodbye for a little longer than that in the latest edition of our media moves.

Thomas Fuller has left Southeast Asia to become the San Francisco Bureau Chief for The New York Times. He was previously an international correspondent for the publication.

Takeaway: Welcoming a journalist to a new post is always a good relationship-building opportunity. Look to drop Thomas a quick line, particularly those who work at SF-based firms.

Forbes

Forbes recently said goodbye to Bruce Upbin who was the managing editor overseeing technology coverage for the last seven years. Bruce now works in strategic communications with transportation technology company Hyperloop One.

Takeaway: Another example of a journalist taking their writing and content development skills in-house. Anyone who has worked with Bruce in the past should look to maintain contact – you never know when your favorite journalist might get the itch to go back into journalism.

TechCrunch

Brian Heater has joined TechCrunch as their new hardware editor where he will lead coverage around consumer electronics, gadgets and emerging hardware technology. Heater also serves as a contributing writer for Mashable.

Takeaway: CES will be here before we know it. Brian could be a good contact for those looking to launch any new products at the show.

Wall Street Journal

After four years at CIO Journal, Rachael King has transitioned to WSJ proper and will now be exclusively covering enterprise technology.

Also, last month the WSJ hired Alexander “Alec” Davis as a news editor based in San Francisco. Previously Alec was the managing editor for MarketWatch.

Takeaway: Rachael’s move is a win for those with enterprise technology clients. When reaching out to Alec, note that he was once vice president at a PR firm in the Bay Area and will be familiar with the media relations process.

Los Angeles Times

Former tech editor, Russ Mitchell, will soon return to the Los Angeles Times. Mitchell will be covering a new beat at the intersection of the auto industry, Silicon Valley and the future of mobility. Mitchell briefly served as managing editor for Kaiser Health News’ California Healthline.

Takeaway: Interesting move by Russ. Guess you really can go home again – albeit a different focus area from his previous stint at the LA Times.

Wired

Recently appointed Wired editor-in-chief, Jay Fielden, has hired three new editors at the magazine. Richard Dorment, former senior editor at Esquire, has joined the Wired staff under the same title. Maria Streshinsky will be joining Dorment as features editor – Streshinsky last served as deputy editor at Mother Jones.

Takeaway: Richard is based in New York and could be a fit for any consumer-related clients. Maria is a California native and could be a good resource when trying to find the appropriate reporter in the SF office.

Bloomberg News

Sarah McBride left Reuters in July to join Bloomberg News in San Francisco. McBride will be covering venture capital and start-ups, the same topics she was covering for Reuters.

Takeaway: While 2015 was an unusually slow year for technology IPOs, investors and bankers have had a more positive outlook for this year. If any of your clients fall in this camp, Sarah might be your go-to.

Recode

Arik Hesseldahl announced via Twitter that he officially left Recode in July.

Takeaway: Arik was THE enterprise guy for several years going back to his days at AllThingsD, Bloomberg and Forbes. I had the pleasure of working with Arik in the past. Believe he’s on a bit of a hiatus right now so looking forward to seeing where he ends up.

Quartz

Alice Truong transferred to Hong Kong to cover growth in Asia and India.

Takeaway: There’s been an influx of Asian companies making noise recently here in the U.S. Might want to think twice about getting rid of Alice’s contact information.

CBS News

Veteran newsman and 60 Minutes broadcaster Morley Safer passed away at age 84. Safer spent 46 years shaping the network’s iconic news program before announcing his retirement in early May

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The time has come – my six weeks are up! One more week and I’m officially off to my senior year in high school. This opportunity has certainly been one that I will never forget. It was my first internship, first exposure to PR, and my first experience officially in the adult world. I enjoyed it here and the thing I’ll miss most is the overall atmosphere. I had no problem getting used to being here everyday because so many people offered their help to me when I needed it. I believe this internship has given me more than I could have offered. Even though I did lose a few hours of sleep, I got to strengthen a variety of skills such as time management, organization, being able to work independently, and knowledge in Excel, Microsoft Lync and Outlook. Even though the commute was long, I ended up having fun traveling and walking to work. The location made my mornings better. I became a morning person. At lease I know I won’t be waking up late for my first day of school.

I have one week to enjoy the rest of my summer and honestly, I think I’ll spend it catching up on sleep I lost in the commuting hours during my six weeks at B&O. I have to say, the one thing I won’t miss here is the amount of food that tempted me everyday (B&O has amazing snacks!) I’m guilty to say I began a habit of drinking tea. For many it’s coffee, but for me tea is my new guilty pleasure.

I came in not knowing what PR was at all and it turns out I liked it a lot. It is now on my list of potential careers I may pursue in the future. I do know now where to go if I do choose a PR career and I know for sure I won’t regret it. Special thanks to Sophie, Shasta, Annemiek and all those at B&O who helped make this an unforgettable experience. I’m truly grateful to have been surrounded by such amazing and talented people at B&O. Wish me luck!

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We’re back with another B&O new hire interview and this time it’s for Miss Taylor Phillips. Taylor’s pure excitement to start working at B&O gave us the opportunity to bombard her (or possibly weird her out) with all of our crazy questions. She answered like a champ, but still left us guessing on a few (if you can ever get out of her the craziest dare she’s ever done, do share with us!)

Taylor comes to B&O from sunny San Carlos, California. When she’s not enjoying the finer things in life like red wine and brownies, Taylor’s probably hanging out with her mean cat, Mikey. A few things to remember: she’s a birthday princess and even crashed Hillary Duff’s bday party once, she’s a summer-lover (although she might be allergic to the sun), and lastly, her favorite board game is… we’ll give you a CLUE. Want to know more? Watch her Q&A video, below!

What’s your full name? Taylor Phillips

Where are you from? San Carlos, California

One word you use to describe yourself? Fun!

What is your favorite kind of cheese? Manchego cheese

How did you end up in PR? Kind of just happened

What is your zodiac sign? Gemini

What is your favorite dessert? Brownies

What is your biggest pet peeve? When people bail on me

What is your favorite color? Pink… No, blue!

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to? Probably Britney Spears when I was like 6.

Where would you go on a dream vacation? An island or anywhere in Europe

Do you have any pets? I have a cat. His name is Mikey. He is mean.

What did you have for breakfast? Breakfast burrito courtesy of Blanc and Otus!

Who is your celebrity crush? Nick Jonas

Do you ever make wishes at 11:11? All the time

What do you wish for? I usually panic and say “world peace!” I don’t know…

Do you have a favorite Snapchat filter? The puppy

What is the most embarrassing email username you’ve ever had? puppygirl@mac.com

Have you ever colored your hair? Yeah, I dyed it black by accident one time and I also streaked it pink when I was 14

Do you have any allergies? Maybe the sun

What is something you’re proud of? Getting this job

What song have you had stuck on your head recently? Actually have it stuck in my head right now, I don’t want to say it though I don’t know what its called – “I just can’t say it though, I just can’t say it though”

Do you have a drink of choice? Coffee, was that suppose to be an alcoholic drink? Wine, red wine

How do you get to and from work? BART

How do you cut sandwiches, diagonally or vertically? Diagonally

Would you rather do a truth or a dare? Dare

What is the craziest dare you’ve ever done?

I don’t want to say it.

[Oh come on]

I’m not going to say it!

Do you have any siblings? I have a sister, she is 25

What is your favorite season? Summer

What is your favorite board game? Monopoly…? I don’t actually know Ohh “Sorry”! Is a good one. “CLUE” “CLUE!” is the one!

When was the last time you’ve played? Oh a long time ago, should have been more recent…

How do you drink your coffee or tea? Coffee with cream

What is your perfect pizza? Big and fluffy crust

Do you have any causes that you are passionate about? Animals

What is your favorite word? Facetious

Do you have a favorite holiday? My birthday… it’s my holiday

What is your favorite food to order in? Chinese

What is your most vivid childhood memory? Going up to the lake and playing water sports and stuff

Was “the dress” white and gold or blue and black? It was blue and black! I didn’t see white and gold!

When they ship Styrofoam, how do they pack it? In more Styrofoam

How many licks so it takes to get to the center of a toothy pop? Ahh… I always eat it before it gets there

How do they get those tiny boats in those glass bottles? Beats me! Worlds mysteries

At a movie theater, which armrest is yours? The left

Something that people may not know about you? Hmmm… I crashed Hilary duffs birthday party once

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In case you weren’t aware, the Olympics are starting up shortly. The games are anticipated every four years, where the world competes to be crowned a champion. Here’s the low down on everything you can learn about the Olympics through the lens of public relations:

First, let’s take a look at how brands leverage the Olympics. Every year we see various brands come out using some of our favorite athletes to help inspire and push us. One brand – Under Armour – has already leveraged the Olympics using Michael Phelps to highlight his last Olympics and the drive it takes to succeed. Watch the video and trust me you’ll feel truly inspired, and if you’re anything like me you’ll think about putting those athletic clothes to use rather than just lounging in them. Then again – maybe not.

#DeleteYourAccount may not only be directed at Donald Trump, but maybe Olympic athletes as well. Quartz reported on how Olympic athletes have gotten in trouble and need to refrain from voicing their opinion during the Olympic games. The International Olympic Committee recommended refraining from using any social media during the games. Why is this a thing though? May have something to do with the Michael Phelps “bong” scandal and Scotty Lago draping his bronze medal over his groin. Let’s hope this year the Olympics are scandal free.

In 2012, the most popular trending topics during the Olympics were Hurricane Sandy and the iPad 3. VentureBeat reports on how the Olympics will be beneficial for various brands in 2016: some of the topics we’re most excited to hear about are drones and wearables.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing some ridiculously good-looking men showing off their athleticism. Any other Olympics tidbits to share before the start? Tweet us @BlancandOtus!

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I’ve made it half way here! That means I must be doing something right. I just finished my third week here at B&O. I have had a really great time; I’ve experienced the life of living in a cubicle, life of handling money, life of having bags under my eyes, and the life of traveling every morning to work. Although the life in a cubicle may sound boring and exhausting, it really isn’t at B&O. And I have to admit the bags under my eyes are the fault of my weakness for TV shows.

As time goes on, I’ve noticed and learned a good amount of new things. I’ve learned much more about the company and details about the unique people who make up the company. I did learn that I work pretty quickly and that there are always ways I can help with other tasks if I finish all of my work. I’ve also learned research can be difficult and stressful at times, especially when you find out all the data you recorded was not saved for the next morning (YES, that happened to me once… or twice.).

Overall the thing that I am finding most interesting about work is the culture of B&O. Most people except for Neil (sorry!) don’t connect directly (hello email and IM, goodbye telephone). The culture of B&O is very friendly and family-like. It’s not just 100% work and competitive focus here. Yes, they take their work seriously and yes, they work efficiently, but the thing that creates the passion here is the culture. Without passion, there isn’t an efficient or conducive working environment.

Throughout the week, I have been assigned a task to interview those who work at B&O. I have interviewed a good number of people here and typically ask questions like how many years of experience they’ve had, their story, inspiration, and what they dislike and like about their job. I have really enjoyed listening to each individual story. All the stories connect and make you realize how PR is filled with people with entirely different backgrounds. There are people from different cultures, people who like/dislike different things, people with different leadership skills, etc. During my interviews, there were a few people who got to the point when I asked questions and some who took fifteen minutes to answer every question. Overall, everyone has been very cooperative with my interviews and seems to really appreciate doing them. I really enjoy being here at B&O and can’t wait to see what my last couple of weeks bring.

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Raquel here, back with my second B&O blog post to give you an update on my first couple of weeks. I will admit, my first weeks at B&O have been slightly challenging. I was pushed into an environment I wasn’t familiar with and am definitely still learning the ropes here. As you know, I’m new to the whole “internship” thing and it was a little intimidating during my first few weeks knowing I was the only high schooler here. My main priority for my time here so far has been to come in on time and do all the work efficiently. I like time management and organization and my daily work has really put that to the test.

Luckily, I didn’t have much trouble understanding my daily work mainly because the people here are very friendly and willing to lend a hand whenever I needed help on something. I think my biggest hurdle to overcome was learning to travel into the office early in the morning and back home during rush hours. While that has been challenging, overall the experience here has been fun and enlightening. I learned I enjoy working independently but also working collaboratively and helping others.

There is definitely no boredom here at B&O. People are constantly moving, their minds are churning with new ideas, and the agency is definitely fast-paced. I’ve come to realize that time management is a very important thing here, because everyone works on different teams and must learn to manage their workload independently. Another thing I’ve learned here is that regardless of how many meetings you have, you must be able to work around them. Somehow, you have to find time to balance meetings with real work and client deadlines too!

I have had a good amount of projects given to me by B&Oers but also some free time, and I used it to mainly continue on research. Besides learning about PR I have had the chance to learn a bit about web design thanks to one of my projects. One thing I will definitely keep in mind moving forward is that there WILL be days when I will have a lot to do and others when I don’t, so its best to keep myself occupied when it’s slower. Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned being here is that you have to ask QUESTIONS. That’s the only way you learn as an intern, and everyone is always happy to answer them! I can’t wait to see what my next few weeks at B&O will bring.